When the builder asks if you want the basement slab stepped down for a home theater don't ask "why the heck would I want a home theater ??" without at least doing a bit of research first.

When you're running wires in the wall from amplifier to speaker don't automatically assume the electronics are going to go at the front of the room. After you've seen enough pictures of other people's slick looking rooms you'll probably want to move the electronics then have all these stupid outlet boxes on the walls you can't use.

If you don't have the $$ for a good system all at once, you can get almost as much enjoyment from two good speakers and a good sub (this one I did do properly IMO).

If you're going to listen to all kinds of music without a sub, buy M3s not M2s.

When the power goes out and your projector stops working it probably means the hidden overtemp switch activated and needs to be reset by taking the projector apart. Buying another $400 bulb doesn't help a bit.

You need a *big* subwoofer to make a concrete floor vibrate... but it's worth it.

Oh... and on a whim I added 4 lights near the floor on a dimmer (in my case the walls come down at 45 degrees so I could use pot lights)... both practical and stylish, the latter being somewhat out of character for me.

1. Plan ahead carefully (as best as possible). Examples: get a 7.1 Receiver/PrePro even if you now think you're never going to use it and/or that 5.1 piece price is very enticing. Pay attention to all those crazy audio/video standards.Buy a Blu RayDVD player that can also play SACD.

2. Try and match components in terms of power/quality; if funds are not available at once, it's worth waiting, even though buying all at once may be exciting. Don't "cheap-out" on components, wires, plugs etc; plugging your M80's into a cheap Receiver will leave you underwhelmed and always feeling that something is missing.

3. Keep music in mind; in my experience, I've rarely seen a HT system used 100% for movies only.

Here's one: Be absolutely certain of your speaker placement/wiring before the drywall goes up. think about it, think about it some more, and then think about it again prior to drywall day. If you are undecided, or think you may want to change your mind, run wire to support both options just in case you want to change the locations. Once the drywall goes up your pretty much locked in. I decided to change the location of my surrounds from in-ceiling to on wall after the walls went up. I was able to run wire through one of the walls after the fact, the other one was less accessible. I will end up using the Axiom flat wire along the ceiling to wire up the left side surround speaker. I'm hoping it will not be noticed by my better half.

Niveka. So true. I think that I planned, measures, marked, re-evaluated, adjusted, sat and contemplated, so on and so forth the placement of my side surrounds for hours. HOURS!

They ended up right where I wanted them in the end.

For me, there were so many variables with unknown number of rows of seats, seat heights, placement, unknown riser height, etc... All factors that had to be processed into the mix and when there are that many variables, it takes more than just slapping the wires in someplace.